Huayu became famous overnight

Chapter 252 Are you scared?
"Aren't you planning to act in this movie?"

"If you want to break into Hollywood, Yinghuang will support you with all its might."

Given the speed of their rise, they certainly have a chance to establish themselves in the international market.

Promoting the next Jackie Chan would be a boon for everyone in the Chinese entertainment industry.

"The environment in Hollywood is completely different from that in the 80s and 90s."

Xu Ming paused for a moment, then shook his head and said, "Besides, this role isn't suitable for me."

Yang Shoucheng agreed.

Some rules are not explicitly stated, but everyone understands them.

Most roles in Hollywood are played by people of color, making it difficult for people with yellow skin to get such roles.

That's why Jackie Chan's success is so precious.

"However, the commercial prospects are not bad, and with Megan and CAA's support, it is not impossible to win an Oscar."

Xu Ming looked at Yang Shoucheng and revealed his plans: "All industries are going global, and the entertainment industry is no exception. We need to and must look outward."

"This film was my first attempt at entering Hollywood. Producing and writing the script was a great starting point, and there will be opportunities to work together again after I establish myself in the industry."

His words are similar to Tang Sanzang recruiting disciples like Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie to go to the Western Paradise to obtain Buddhist scriptures, promising that they would all be deified after obtaining the scriptures.

Yang Shoucheng originally planned to invest $100 million as a token gesture, to give Xu Ming some face.

But upon hearing this, the number I was about to say changed.

"Five million US dollars, that's what I can agree to right now. Anything higher will need to be discussed internally within the group."

Given his status, the so-called discussion was merely a formality, nothing more than a pretext.

But Xu Ming was already satisfied: "That's fine."

With this initial success, it became much easier for him to negotiate with other people.

Even if the other party wants a larger share, he's not really willing to give it up. The amount of money invested isn't important; what's important is getting more people on board.

Only by getting more people tied to his ship can he gain more support for going to sea.

"Are you going to retire from the spotlight and never appear in public again?"

After all, the other party's influence has grown considerably, and it's understandable that they're unwilling to continue performing in public due to their status.

"of course not."

Xu Ming smiled and said, "Working behind the scenes doesn't affect my appearances on stage."

In ten years, let alone a small business owner like him in the entertainment industry.

Even the richest people would love to be as famous as possible in the public eye.

Take Lei Jun, for example. He has maximized the value of his personal reputation, which has inspired a group of business tycoons who are eager to get a piece of the internet self-media pie.

"Then don't forget Yinghuang for your project. I have everything you need: funding, personnel, and equipment."

Yang Shoucheng figured it out: since he had decided to support the other side, he might as well stand by them to the end.

"Don't worry, Yinghuang is Qiming's closest partner," Xu Ming said sincerely.

He had always coveted Yinghuang's distribution channels in Asia.

The European and American film markets are separated by oceans and there is also a significant cultural gap. If Qiming wants to expand overseas, the Asian market is the first piece of the map it needs to conquer.

Seeing that Xu Ming's tone seemed genuine, Yang Shoucheng felt a sense of goodwill towards this younger man and then revealed some news: "Jackie Chan's 'Police Story' series is getting a new installment, expected to start filming at the end of this year. I'll arrange a meeting for you later."

Upon hearing this, Xu Ming raised an eyebrow, and the image of Da Tian Tian flashed through his mind.

The other party was probably referring to "Police Story 2013".

With the other party's introduction and one's own reputation, the roles are basically 80-90% certain upon meeting.

Although he really hoped to collaborate with his older brother Cheng, he decided to skip this film.

Most of the screen time is given to Jackie Chan, with a small portion going to Jing Tian.

It wouldn't be appropriate for him to join in and take away anyone else's scenes; it just means this script wasn't suitable for him to be part of.

He wanted a powerful alliance, not to be a supporting role for Jackie Chan.

"No, I plan to hone my acting skills and work on awards in the next two years. I'll put commercial films on hold for now," Xu Ming declined.

Yang Shoucheng paused for a moment, then, remembering Xu Ming's situation on the mainland, he nodded, seemingly lost in thought.

……

three days later.

Beijing.

Xu Ming returned to his long-missed home. Before he could even take off his shoes, he saw his mother holding a mulberry branch with mulberry leaves still attached.

They patted him and muttered something under their breath.

"What's wrong? Did you go and take action?"

Xu Ming couldn't dodge in time and let Ye Zi land on him. He frowned and asked.

"What do you mean, 'I'm just getting rid of bad luck' for you?" said Xu's mother.

"What bad luck do I have? I live in a big house and have plenty of food and drink."

Xu Ming looked helplessly at his father sitting on the sofa, "Has my mother taken the wrong medicine?"

"Stop pretending. The whole village knows you've been having trouble lately. Your father and I came to Beijing specifically to take care of you, so you don't do anything rash," Xu's mother said matter-of-factly.

The whole village knows?
How come he didn't know?
“Ahem, you and your master didn’t appear on the Spring Festival Gala this year, and some people in the village are gossiping that you and Uncle Benshan offended someone and are about to be ruined. Your mother heard about it and had a big argument with someone, so she brought me here,” Xu’s father said.

hiss--

That's why they say there's no smoke without fire.

Some of the rumors circulating among the people seem to have a degree of truth to them.

"Not appearing on the Spring Festival Gala isn't a life-or-death matter. According to your logic, many celebrities who didn't appear on the Spring Festival Gala are doomed."

"I just don't have any good ideas for the show. If I go on stage and don't perform well, I won't get any benefits and will have a lot of trouble. It's better to leave the audience with something to look forward to."

Xu Ming explained with a smile, but he didn't say much to his master and elders, as it would only cause them trouble.

Sometimes, reporting only good news and not bad news is also a form of filial piety.

"That's true. There's a saying, 'Let's know when to stop.'"

After patting the mulberry branches, Xu's mother raised her hand and pinched her son's cheek: "You've really lost weight this time."

"Absolutely, the food abroad is awful, it's tasteless," Xu Ming said casually.

He was so busy attending banquets that he had no time to enjoy the food.

Moreover, the long journey is indeed exhausting.

While chatting with her parents and enjoying a rare family time, she also replied to greetings text messages from various friends back home.

He underestimated his influence in China, as well as the keenness of the Hong Kong paparazzi.

He was only in Hong Kong for two extra days when he was photographed by paparazzi.

His flight information back to the mainland was also exposed, and now the whole country knows that he has returned.

"By the way, that Xiao Yang from your company is a really nice guy."

“During the time your father and I were in Beijing, she accompanied us shopping and came to our house to help out whenever she had free time. I think she's a very family-oriented girl…”

Xu's mother kept rambling on and on.

Upon hearing the name Gu family, Xu Ming immediately ignored it.

He knew without a doubt that "Little Yang" was Da Mimi, whose pursuit of her career was second to none in the entire industry.

In Xu's mother's eyes, the other party's "family-orientedness" was nothing less than consolidating his career.

dong dong!

There was a knock on the door.

Xu Ming sprang to his feet like a spring, finally managing to escape his mother's nagging.

But could the person who came be Yang Mi?
He opened the door, and his ears were instantly filled with a cacophony of chatter.

Naza, Li Jinming, Li Xin and other artists from the company were all at the entrance, clearly having come over for a visit.

“We heard you just got back, boss, so we came to welcome you back,” Nazha said. “Welcome you back? I think it’s more like we’re trying to freeload.”

Xu Ming looked at everyone empty-handed and chuckled.

"Sigh, I was just saying I'd bring a fruit basket or something."

"A fruit basket isn't for sick people, you should bring some food and drinks instead."

"Does Brother Ming need these? Our boss is such a generous person, he definitely won't care."

Seeing that the argument was about to start again, Nazha interrupted with a single sentence.

"That's absolutely right. Nazha is definitely different now that she's in school. Her flattery skills are now top-notch," Xu Ming joked.

Naza blushed, her eyes showing embarrassment and annoyance.

She is now a freshman in the 11 class of performance at Beijing Dianzi University, and thanks to the company's online publicity department, she has already earned the title of the most beautiful freshman at Beijing Dianzi University.

"You're so good with words, I'll arrange a leading role for you in a movie later," Xu Ming said unhurriedly.

Everyone was stunned. Seeing that the other party's expression didn't seem like a joke, they were dumbfounded.

No, you should have said earlier that flattery could get you the lead role.

"Ahhh, Ming-ge, you're so great! You're the best, most handsome, and most dashing man in the world!" Nazha exclaimed in surprise.

"Mr. Xu..."

Seeing that others were about to follow suit.

Xu Ming quickly waved his hand: "Nazha is the perfect age. Even if she doesn't come, she'll still be the leading lady."

No wonder he treated a movie lead role so casually; their relationship was already arranged long ago.

Only then did everyone give up.

Especially when they noticed that the boss and his elders were also there, they immediately changed from being carefree to being respectful.

However, their ulterior motives didn't stop.

If Nazha is the right age, then Yang Yang and Li Xin, both born in the 90s, wouldn't be a bad match either.

……

When Xu Ming's house was bustling with activity.

The industry is also buzzing with activity.

Huayi.

Wang Zhongjun appeared distracted, clearly affected by the news of Xu Ming's return to China.

Since the latter quieted down, things have become much easier for the whole company.

Unexpectedly, after only a few months of peace, this guy came back again.

"If you ask me, we should poke it up there. I don't believe this kid's ass is completely clean," Wang Zhonglei said viciously.

Having once again enjoyed the feeling of being at the top of the entertainment industry, he naturally didn't want to go back to the situation where he was overshadowed by Xu Ming.

"Idiot, why are you pushing it upwards? Do you think we're clean?" Wang Zhongjun said irritably.

"So we'll just let this kid run wild?"

Wang Zhonglei's tone rose, "Second brother, we finally have a chance to suppress him, we might miss it."

"Hmph, if we suppress him, what about Bona, Enlight Media, and so on? Can we suppress them all? At least Xu is a lone wolf; he doesn't have that much ambition."

Wang Zhongjun gave his younger brother a piece of advice: his previous feelings toward Xu Ming stemmed mostly from the change in their respective statuses and the suppression of his position on the box office charts.

But honestly, Qiming's threat to Huayi is far less than that of companies like Bona and Enlight Media.

Even if Xu Ming is a prolific director, he can only produce a maximum of ten films a year.

Because of its focus on high-quality productions, the output of both films and television series is limited, and the scale of its artist management business is also relatively small.

Most importantly, Qiming is not a listed company, which means it is destined that it will not have as much working capital as listed companies like them.

Companies like Bona Film Group and Enlight Media produce at least 20 to 30 films and television series a year.

This is Huayi's real rival.

"Second brother, are you scared?"

Wang Zhonglei's words interrupted Wang Zhongjun's thoughts, enraging the latter.

All those reasons I came up with were nothing compared to the pain my brother's words hit me like that.

The truth is the sharpest knife.

"Why don't you do it?" Wang Zhongjun said coldly.

Wang Zhonglei shook his head vigorously, like a rattle drum.

Not only did he realize that his second brother was angry, but he also knew that his skill level was not as good as his second brother's, and he would only lose even more miserably when facing Xu Ming.

"First, have someone closely monitor Xu Ming and his company's activities. Given his situation, if he's smart enough, he won't act rashly," Wang Zhongjun said in a deep voice.

“Okay, I’ll keep an eye on it myself.” Wang Zhonglei nodded.

……

Bona.

Yu Dong rubbed his chin, his brows furrowed: "Tell me... how come Xu Ming dares to come back at this critical juncture?"

“He has a great reputation and has always kept his distance from Benshan Media. In addition, he was just implicated and will not be seriously harmed, so no one dares to touch him easily.”

The secretary shook his head and answered, "Moreover, his move may also be a test, but we don't need to worry about him causing any big trouble in China within one to two years."

He subconsciously and cautiously limited the scope to the domestic market.

After all, he was causing trouble overseas, so there was no way to control him. The thought just flashed through my mind, and I didn't take it seriously at all.

"The release of 'Flying Swords of Dragon Gate' was postponed to January of this year because of him, and it grossed 5 million yuan at the box office. If it had been put together with 'The Taking of Tiger Mountain' at that time, it's hard to say who would have won."

"Because of this, Bona has been ridiculed a lot in the industry."

With Qiming's retreat and Xuming's brief silence, Yu Dong's vengeful heart stirred again.

Putting aside the old and new grudges between the two sides, let's just talk about "Taking Tiger Mountain by Strategy." He didn't mention it at the time, but he knew very well that Qi Ming had skimmed a lot of money off him.

After doing some research, I found out that the other party and Xu Kezhen had really slaughtered me back then; they were utterly despicable.

"We're not the only ones in the industry who have opinions about Xu Ming," the secretary said quietly.

Yu Dong was slightly taken aback, then exclaimed, "That's right! But wait a minute. It's not good to be the first to stick your neck out. Besides, he specifically met Yang Shoucheng in Hong Kong. He might have some tricks up his sleeve."

……

Discussions within the industry about themselves.

Although Xu Ming didn't know, he could probably guess.

Aside from Wanda and Stellar Media, few people in the industry would welcome him back.

He was too lazy to clarify or explain.

After returning home, I spent a few days with my parents and also handled some company matters remotely.

I originally planned to relax for another week before talking to Wanda and Star Media about investment.

But then he received a phone call from Mr. Tang.

"Zhang Ziyi is visiting the company?"

Xu Ming raised an eyebrow. This woman had followed him all the way from New York to Beijing; she was keeping a close eye on him.

He thought about it for a moment. She wasn't well-known overseas, but she was a top-tier actress in China.

When it comes to one's own investment, one might expect to take advantage of the other party's resources to some extent.

"Leave her to rest in the reception room. I'll be there in half an hour," Xu Ming said in a deep voice.

You delivered this to me yourself.

Upon receiving the order, Tang Sheng quickly led Zhang Ziyi to the reception room.

The latter showed none of the arrogance he had displayed in New York; on the contrary, he was very polite throughout the trip, which made all the company's employees feel that he was very approachable.

(End of this chapter)